Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has raised an alarm over the figure of indigenous companies closing down in Kwara state, describing it as alarming.
Speaking shortly after presenting the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certification to Ayo-Ayodele Pharmaceutical Chemists Nigeria Limited in Ilorin at the weekend, the state coordinator, SON, Ayeni Feyisayo, specifically, said that at least, 11 per cent of those companies close down every year due to unfair economic realities.
“In Kwara State about 11 per cent of companies close down annually as a result of unfavorable economic climate. For instance, the steel factories about 15 years ago, there were seven of them. As I speak to you, it is only one that is surviving. We have about 27 yogurt companies 10 years ago, now only two are surviving.
”I had an interaction with table water producers association in the state and they told me that about 33 of them have closed down in the state.
“We need to consider those companies that are closing down because of numerous economic and technical problems they do have. The figures keep becoming alarming. That is why government created ease of doing business.
“There is a national sustainability plan that we are engaging in now and we are working with all these government agencies to make sure that companies do not just close down.
“The factors for the short lifespan of these companies are numerous.
One is expertise, another is the improper establishment of some of the companies and another is the unfair competition to the companies are subjected.
“Another one is the challenges we have in this country. But because SON is aware of some of these challenges we come in with expertise. Statistics from our field reveal that small-scale companies have to be carefully nurtured and cultivated for them to survive in the country we are.
“Because we are aware of the statistics of the number of companies that close down yearly. For our economy to get better, we need to focus on those companies. So that over the years they will be able to create products that will compete internationally with other companies”.
Earlier, the Executive Director of the company, Damilola Shittu, decried the influx of substandard pharmaceutical products into the country.
Mr. Shittu, represented by Factory Manager, Maruf Lawal, said that “at the top of the challenges threatening the existence of local businesses in Nigeria is the influx of substandard products (for example cotton wool) which have flooded the Nigerian markets by unregulated elements.
“We enjoin the organization to tighten the noose on the people engaging in these sharp practices to ensure the health and safety of unsuspecting Nigerians”.
He hailed SON for acknowledging that “the support for local industries is the panacea for security and economic challenges that we are facing today and that strict adherence to the standard is vital to Nigeria’s global competitiveness”.